Getting a program running on the Critter Board consists of two parts:
The whole process can be run from Mac OSX, Linux, and Windows.
We use the GNU Toolchain (GCC) as a compiler. GCC supports many processors, including the ARM. It works well and there are pre-built packages available.
Here are some notes on setting up the GNU toolchain for the different operating systems:
Every LPC2138 has a special bootloader program that is installed at the factory. The purpose of this bootloader is to allow for new programs to be easily uploaded to the internal flash memory from a computer. The computer runs a program called a flash utility to communicate with the LPC2138 and upload programs.
The USB programmer board is used to connect the computer to the Critter Board like so:
The USB programmer supplies 50 mA of current at 3.3v. This is a little less than is needed to run the Critter Board. We have run the Critter Board with only the USB programmer attached (powering over USB), but don't recommend it. A 7.5 - 9 volt power source should be plugged in before attaching the USB programmer.
The flash utility and the LPC2138 bootloader communicate using an RS232-style serial interface. Since old time serial ports (or COM ports) are less frequent on computers (non existant on Macs) the USB programmer uses a FT232R RS232-to-USB bridge IC. The FT232R provides a virtual COM port over USB. It requires a driver for this to work. Download the driver here and follow the instructions to install.
Once the driver is installed, you should be ready to run the flash utility. This will be different depending on what operating system you use. Here are some instructions for the different systems: